Electrician&#39;s wrench and reamer



Nov. 20, 1951 P. w. YOUNG I ELECTRICIANS WRENCH AND REAMER Filed March 25, 1950 INVEN TOR.

j zauw fifi Patented Nov. 20, 1951 U STATE-S: PATENT. QFFIGE:

The principal object'zof this. invention :ais; to provide a combined. wrench sand .ireamer for use. in installing house :swiring; that. :will reach l' and turn a'nut onxa connectorlinranj part. of :arjuncticn box and will remove zburrsrirom:tthinz wall.

tubing and connectoraiand which; rinf. ai'preierred .form of. embodiment,: may beused 'to perform iirboth; perations simultaneously.

Generally :speaking, ;this:s is :accomplished by.

combining rspa'ced W prongs lfOl. .iturning ithe nut withereamers between and adjacent to-the inner side. ofithe prongs.

In the drawings:

.Fig; l 1is..ajperspectivewiew showingzthe "coma bined wrench and reamer appliedxtora connector for apiecetof wiringrcon'duit and a junction box;

Fig. 2 is a section through a connector, a portion of a junction'boxyand the-end portion of electric "conduit;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the combined tool .and reamer; and.

Figs. 4 and 5' are plan and end elevations showing the application of thetool to the'end of 'a-piece of -conduit;

In Fig. 1,-there-"is shown-*a-faimiliar form of junction box having -a wall or bottom I Wand four flanges ll, each provided with a plurality of knock-outs I 2 for providing openings to receive wiring conduits I3.

In Fig. 2, there is shown a familiar form of connector including a nipple I4 having a threaded portion I5 adapted to be received in one of the openings of the junction box and made fast by a nut I6. The connector also includes an extension I! having an enlarged bore or opening ill to receive the end portion [3 of a conduit.

The wall In of the junction box has five knockouts and each flange II has three knock-outs, any one or any number of which may be removed to make an opening or openings to receive the conduits. The position of the openings indicated in Fig. 1, considered with the form of the connector shown in Fig. 2, will be suflicient to indi cate that the nuts l6 may be very close together and to the top H of the junction box and an adjacent connector.

The conduits are commonly made of what is known as thin-wall tubing, which is cut to length by a hacksaw, and. hence has burrs inside and outside at the cut end. The connectors are not so subject to the formation of burrs, but frequently have them. Any burr interferes with the threading 0f the insulated Wire into the conduit, and may so injure the insulation as to give rise to a short circuit.

their hands The workmen innatmany parts:. .of:'.theroouritry; do :a 3 great .:deal of installation during inclement weather; 1. and inn almost: all 2 cases, "whether zin clementor not; they wear gloves to protect difiicultyiatof installin'g. "the; connectors; ands-the commonriway of :(setting. up therinut. iii with a screwdriver asraa-ztdrivingtool .andcca :hammer to .zapply-rthe-ziorcw The :combined riiwrench rand; reamer iiembodyingi this. 1inventioni in:thisrpreferred form includes :a v

flat :bar .2.0,-$here.-shown .:as reduced intcthe inter mediatesportionrztoa;.formtt:a ihandlegsand' inci dentally a tool head .2! at each end.

:Each iztooli head-ii includes aspaced .PDIUI'IgSIT. 22

rounded onitheir innertfaces..323 randfisetrapartr sonias ito. .readi'ly straddle ;the nut in and ilt-the At whatimaysbezcalled: theibasexof :each prong 1 22 ion 1 :the zinner. rside :adjacent :to its .inner end-,5 there .2 are formednreamers .here :shown-z as i composed of V-shaped cutting suriaeesfmiiand 21, though they may be more nearly U eshaped thanizv-shapedi Lookingrat .=thesleftrendrorJFig. 3;:the. upperreamer: 25 iihasits': M -shapedz'surfaces 2 6 iandall. I:

sloped from the near face of the wrench outwardly toward the remote face of the wrench, and those at the lower side of the same head are the reverse. By that arrangement the reamers are set to cut on substantially diametrically opposite portions of a conduit or a connector.

Between the prongs 22 and equally spaced from them and endwise from the reamers is a center projection 30, rounded at its edges 3| to fit the interior of the connector with appropriate clearance.

The combined tool and reamer has a head such as described at each end, but the one at the right in Fig. 3 and at the top in Fig. 1 is turned at right angles to the main body of the tool.

With this arrangement, one of the heads can be applied to a connector in any position in the junction box shown in Fig. 1 or any other in common use, and with appropriate movement the nut I6 can be turned to set it up or release it as the case may be. Any conflict with adjacent nuts or adjacent connectors is such as to permit necessary rotation, at least in small portions of a turn.

In reaming the burrs from the ends of conduit cut by a hacksaw or otherwise, the tool head is applied substantially as shown in. Fig. 4, pressed against the end of the conduit and ro- These conditions increase the tated clockwise with the reamer edges as shown. The points of the V-shaped reamers 25 are spaced just right to apply the cutting edges inside and outside of the conduit, and therefore will remove burrs on both sides at the same operation. The centering portion 30 assists in entering the tool, but after it has reached the position shown in Fig. 4 the reaming edges serve to center themselves. Hence, the portion 3Ilmay be reduced or eliminated. I

In applying the tool as shown in Fig. '1 or with the other end spanning the connector, the reaming surfaces will take any burrs ofi the nipple 15 at its end portion within the junction box, and the centering projection 30 will clear anything in the connector beyond the endof the conduit.

4 base of each opening, a pair of prongs each projecting endwise beyond one of said edges for cooperating to straddle a nipple and a nut thereon and engage projections on the nut, and a centering projection between the prongs adapted to enter the nipple and guide the head thereon. 2. In a combined wrench and reamer, a head having a pair of laterally spaced openings open to one end of the head, a pair of intersecting cutting edges at the base of each opening, a pair of prongs each projecting endwise beyond one of said edges for cooperating to straddle a nipple and a nut thereon and engage projections As shown in Fig. 1, the reaming andtightening a operations may be performed simultaneously.-

This is possible because .it is standard practice of the manufacturers to make the nipples. IA of uniform length, or at least of standard uniform length between the shoulder which abuts the outer surface of the junction box and the end of the nipple inserted in the box. The standard box also has walls of uniform thickness. Consequently it is a simple matter to make the depth of the openings between the prongs 22 and the centering projection 30 of the tool appropriate for causing the cutting edge or edges 26 to make reaming engagement with the end of the nipple while the nut is being led into tight engagement with the box wall.

It is customary to fasten the junction boxes, measure the conduit, cut it to length, slip the connectors over the ends of the conduit, crimp them, and then make necessary insertions in the holes formed by removing the knock-outs l2 and apply the nuts. All the workman needs is the crimper and thecombined wrench and reamer of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a combined wrench and reamer, a head having a pair of laterally spaced openings open 4 on the nut, and a centering projection between the prongs adapted to enter the nipple and guide the head thereon.

3. In a combined wrench and reamer, a flat bar terminating at one end in a head having a pair of laterally spaced openings open to one end of the head, a pair of cutting edges, one at the base of each opening, with oppositely disposed beveled slopes whereby said edges are adapted to cooperate in reaming when the head is rotated on the end of a tube, a pair of prongs each projecting endwise beyond one of said edges for cooperating to straddle a nipple and a nut thereon and engage projections on the nut, and a centering projection between the prongs adapted to enter the nipple and guide the head thereon.

4. A combined wrench and reamer as claimed in claim 3, in which the opposed surfaces of the centering projection and the prongs are rounded to facilitate. engagement with an internal cylindrical surface and projections on a nut respectively.

- PIERRE W. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Gassman May 17, 1949 

